


donghyuck's island

by lefargen



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Desert Island Fic, Established Relationship, Friends to Lovers, Getting Together, Lowkey Crack, M/M, Polyamory, Strangers to Lovers, gilligans island au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-18
Updated: 2019-05-18
Packaged: 2020-03-07 06:29:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,047
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18867631
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lefargen/pseuds/lefargen
Summary: When a storm knocks the SS Dream off it's course, the crew and passengers have to learn how to survive on a deserted island. With the support of one another, they just might make it.or: gilligan's island au





	donghyuck's island

**Author's Note:**

> i have a secret love for really old sitcoms, so i thought writing a gilligan's island au would be kind of fun. for those familiar with the show these were my character inspirations:
> 
> mark: the skipper  
> haechan: gilligan  
> jisung and chenle: the howell's  
> jeno: the professor  
> renjun: mary ann  
> jaemin: ginger
> 
> if you know anything about this show you know how accurately the members match the characters
> 
> (also this is unbeta'd so sorry for any typos, i'm tired and dumb)

Donghyuck stands on the deck of the boat, and takes in the view in front of him: nothing but miles and miles of clear blue sea. He tilts his head up towards the sky, basking in the warmth offered by the sun sitting high above him. The waves rock him slightly, as he enjoys a moment of peace before the hectic day starts. 

Donghyuck works on the GAYS ONLY BOAT TOUR, a boating experience that offers a lgbt-friendly 6-hour boat tour around the sea, free from hate, prejudice, and judgement. Donghyuck loves his job.

“Donghyuck,” a voice interrupts his thoughts. “It’s time to start going over procedures,” the voice calls again. Donghyuck sighs, heading over towards the captain’s wheel to greet the skipper: Mark. 

Mark and Donghyuck have been working together for years, since Mark founded the boat tour. They work well, the two making up for each other’s flaws given their polar opposite personalities. Sometimes they argue, Mark is too uptight, and Donghyuck is too accident-prone, but at the end of the day, they make a pretty good team. 

“Let’s go over our guests,” Mark begins, staring down at his clipboard. “First we have Zhong Chenle, billionaire businessman and his boyfriend Park Jisung. Be extra nice to them, they might give us a big tip,” he suggests. Donghyuck nods along, taking mental notes on the information Mark is providing. 

“We also have Lee Jeno, who is a University Professor of Mathematics. He is a smart, lonely gay who is looking to unwind. He also has money so treat him well, too,” Mark continues. 

“We also have Na Jaemin, I’m sure you’ve heard of him. He is a pretty big movie star, so be the nicest to him. Not just for the tip money, but also possible publicity that could come from him. And lastly we have Huang Renjun. He won this trip in our raffle, so don’t worry about him. I doubt he has the money to tip,” Mark explains. 

Donghyuck nods along as they go over their pre-boating checklist. The bathrooms have just been stocked with enough toilet paper and soap to last for this trip, and every other trip they’ve booked this month. Their kitchen has food for their sunset dinner, and everything else is checked and ready. 

“It’s a beautiful day, Mark,” Donghyuck says, “not a single cloud in sight.” Mark nods along, “I didn’t even bother checking the weather, I have a good feeling about today, Hyuck,” he replies. 

Before Donghyuck can say something else, they are interrupted by the sounds of voices approaching the boat. Their guests are here, and Mark and Donghyuck are about to take them on a journey. 

-

Turns out, Mark made a horrible mistake by not checking the weather beforehand. If he had, he would have been able to see the large storm that was about to happen, and ended the tour early. He would have prepared the boat to take on the storm, and get them to safety. But he didn’t do any of that. 

Instead, they are sat on the deck of the boat, enjoying their sunset dinner and getting to know each other. Jaemin explains what it’s like to be on a movie set, Chenle butting in to explain that he’s funded several of Jaemin’s film projects. Jeno shares what is like working at a University, and Renjun playfully begins to call him the Professor. Mark and Donghyuck look on, glad their guests are enjoying themselves. Mark is just about to offer Jisung some more steak when he hears it. _Thunder._

Mark looks at Donghyuck with wide eyes. They haven’t even begun their journey back yet, and they haven’t prepared for a storm at all. Mark rushes to his cockpit and checks the radio, and hears the worst news possible. There is a storm, and it’s heading right towards them. 

Donghyuck cleans up dinner quickly, and drags the guests inside before going to stand by Mark, ready to do whatever the other asks of him. Mark is frantic, rushing to get back to shore, away from danger. 

The storm begins and it’s rough, rougher than anything Mark has sailed through before. He takes his eyes off the sea for one second to make eye contact with Donghyuck and sees nothing but fear in his eyes. 

“Mark, I’m scared,” Donghyuck admits, familiar enough with sailing to know that there is a chance that they won’t get out of this situation alive. 

“It’s okay, Hyuckie. I am too. But I promise I am going to get you out of here alive. I promise I will get you home safe,” Mark says in an attempt to reassure the other. 

A large wave crashes against them and Mark loses control of the wheel. The wind is so strong is blows both him and Donghyuck to the ground. Something, Mark doesn’t know what, falls and hits his head, and he reaches out for Donghyuck’s hand as everything goes black. 

-

When Mark opens his eyes again, he is greeted by the sight of a beautiful angel, light surrounding his beautiful, tan skin. That is the moment Mark knows he has died. Or so he thinks, until the angel opens his mouth. 

“Mark? Are you okay? You hit your head, but I don’t think it was anything serious? Do you think you might have a concussion?” the voice asks. That is when Mark realizes the angel in front of him is actually Donghyuck. 

“I feel fine, just a little sore. But Hyuck…. What happened? Where are we?” he asks, sitting up slowly, wincing at the slight pain that rattles his body. Donghyuck looks at him nervously, bottom lip trapped between his teeth. 

“I’m not sure. I think we are on an island somewhere. I’m not sure for how long we sailed before we hit land. The island, I think it's deserted Mark. And the boat is wrecked. Probably beyond repair…” Donghyuck trails off. 

Mark looks at him, shocked at what he is hearing. He has sailed a thousand times in his lifetime, and nothing bad had ever happened. This is the worst possible outcome other than death. Which reminds him…

“Hyuck, what about the others? Are they all safe?” he asks, anxious to hear the answer. If anyone died under his watch, while he was sailing, while he was the skipper… Mark doesn’t know if he would ever forgive himself. 

“Hey, its okay,” Donghyuck begins, rushing to comfort Mark. He rubs a gentle hand on his back, reassuring him. “They are all sitting on the beach waiting for you to wake up so we can discuss a game plan, alright?” 

Mark stands up immediately, swaying a little. Donghyuck rushes to steady him, but Mark shrugs him off and walks off the boat. He doesn’t feel like he deserves the comfort. 

He is greeted by his five passengers, all of which seem to be okay. This causes the knot in his heart to loosen a little, but not by much. They all look at him expectedly, as if they expect him to be a leader. 

“I want to start off by apologizing for what happened. I was the captain of this ship, and I failed you all-” he begins before promptly being cut off. 

“None of us blame you Mark,” the short one says, standing up as he speaks. Mark remembers his name is Renjun, the one who won the boat cruise ticket. This somehow makes Mark feel worse. “I think we need to stop the pity party and come up with a game plan. What supplies do we have? And what is our food and water situation looking like?”

Mark is slightly taken aback, but answers Renjun’s questions anyway. “We have enough toiletries to last us a month, and enough food to last us two weeks.”

“What about the radio? Is there a signal? Is it working?” Renjun asks. Mark goes to answer, to tell him he hasn’t checked but Donghyuck beats him to it. 

“It’s broken, but it looks fixable. I don’t really know anything about technology, or engineering but I think we can fix it with the tools we have,” he answers. That’s when Jeno stands up. 

“I am a mathematics professor. I am not an engineer, but I am sure given time, I could figure it out. Hopefully within the next month, before we run out of toilet paper,” Jeno says. 

After that the conversation turns to logistics. They have two single bunk beds and one queen sized bed on the boat. Jisung and Chenle offer to take one bunk, and Donghyuck and Mark offer to take the other. Mark and Donghyuck have spent so much time together, that sharing a bed isn’t strange for them. That leaves the queen size bed to the other three, and everyone agrees that it is fine. 

Renjun mentions exploring the island when he got there. He said there didn’t look to be any humans or animals on the island. He found a coconut tree, and said if you swim out far enough, there are fish. 

“Let’s make a plan. Every other day we eat the food that is on the ship. On the off days, we eat fish and coconut. That way we can spread the food out longer, without getting too sick of what we have to make from the island. One month. Let’s get out of here in one month,” Renjun suggests. 

They all agree before going their separate ways. Jisung and Chenle leave to explore the island, Jeno goes to check the radio, and Renjun and Jaemin go back to the boat to look for something to do. 

As soon as everyone leaves, Mark collapses, face buried in his hands as violent sobs wracked his body. Donghyuck is there in an instant, pulling him into his arms and letting him cry.

“I’m so sorry. This is all my fault, I’m so sorry. I am a horrible skipper, and now we are stranded and it’s all my fault,” he cries into Donghyuck’s shoulder. The younger shushes him, and whispers comforting words into his ear, trying to calm him down. 

Eventually Mark pulls back, wiping the tears from his eyes. Donghyuck grabs his hand, and forces eye contact. “You managed to get all of us out of that storm alive. Not everyone could do that. Don’t beat yourself up over this. Renjun was right, let’s focus on getting out of here.”

Mark isn’t fully convinced, but he nods anyway. He is going to do everything he can to get them off of this island. He promised Donghyuck he would get him home safe, and he intends to keep that promise. 

-

Meanwhile, Jisung and Chenle walk across the beach, shoes off and hands interlocked. Despite the chaos and their near-death experience, the two of them feel the most at peace they have in awhile. 

“You know, I know this situation is objectively terrible, but I am not even upset. The island is quite peaceful. It’s a nice change from the busy lives we live,” Jisung admits, looking over the water into the horizon. 

Chenle squeezes his hand in response. “I was kind of thinking the same thing. Also, I can’t help but feel like I have always lived a life of privilege, and this is the universe’s way of humbling me a little. Teaching me to fend for myself and all of that,” Chenle says. 

Jisung’s face lights up immediately. “Then let’s get to it. Let’s start a fire or something!” he says excitedly. Chenle agrees, and the two set off to gather firewood. 

-

The two make it back to the campsite, and begin to set up their firepit. Both are excited at the prospect of helping out, of doing something for themselves and the people around them. This is not something either are used to. However, the mood eventually turns a little sour. 

Because neither of them actually know how to build a fire. They gathered a lot of wood from the forest on the island, and arranged it into a circle. That was the easy part. The problem is, they don’t know how to start the fire. 

They take turns rubbing two sticks together, but nothing happens. Not even a spark. Not even a little puff of smoke. Absolutely nothing. They try for an hour and nothing happens. 

Renjun walks by, looks at them uninterestedly and leaves. He comes back a couple minutes later with a lighter in hand, lights the fire, and then walks away. Jisung and Chenle looked at each other absolutely stunned. 

Okay, so maybe they don’t need to do things _completely_ on their own. A little help once in while never hurt anyone. 

-

They’ve been on the island for about a week now, and Jeno hasn’t made much progress on the radio. It doesn’t help that the instruction manual is in Chinese, and he needs Renjun with him at all times to translate parts of it for him when he doesn’t know what it says. 

Their time on the boat together has allowed the two to become quite close. Jeno can’t help but feel grateful knowing there is someone there on the island who he can go to. Renjun and Jeno spend practically all day together, except at night where they are separated by Jaemin who claimed the middle of the bed. 

Jeno thought it would feel weird to share a bed with two strangers, but at this point he is grateful that he has a real bed. The island has taught him to cherish the simple luxuries in life. He now appreciates the breathtaking beauty of the sun setting and rising every day. He grows found of the calmness that is on the island, his ears no longer assaulted daily by the loud screeches of the city. 

He also finds beauty in delicate hands and wide smiles. Jeno isn’t naive. He signed up for the GAYS ONLY CRUISE to have a safe, relaxing trip, but that doesn’t mean he hadn’t thought of the possibility of meeting someone. 

Unfortunately, strenuating circumstances has caused Jeno to put romance on the back burner. It doesn’t matter how cute some of his new friends may be, his only focus is on fixing the radio. He is the only one who has the ability to get the help that will get them off of the island. 

He is trying his best, but he isn’t an engineer. The thought that he’ll never fix the radio, that he’ll let everyone down, haunts him at night. On their second night on the island, Jeno woke up in a cold sweat, panicking at the thought of being stuck on the island forever. 

Jaemin, who was sleeping draped all over him (something Jeno had grown quite used to immediately), stirred and noticed Jeno’s distress. He spent the next hour calming him down enough to go to sleep. Since then, everytime Jeno has felt overwhelmed, he nudges Jaemin gently, and the two go out and watch the waves crash against the shore until Jeno feels better. 

The pressure is still there, it still nags at the back of his mind at all times. But Renjun is there during the day and Jaemin is there at night, and their presence helps calm his stuttering heart a little. 

-

Jaemin loves being on the island. As an actor, he has spent the entire year going from schedule to schedule. Being on a deserted island is a nightmare for many people, but for Jaemin, he sees it as a long extended holiday. 

Renjun and Jeno spend their day working on the radio. Mark and Donghyuck spend the day doing little chores, and managing the supplies they have. Jisung and Chenle run around trying to live simply. Jaemin sits on the beach, lets the sun rays hit his skin, and lets himself relax. 

He spends most of his days like this. It’s the first time in years he has had a proper break, and he is going to enjoy it. His new favorite hobby is climbing up a tree, grabbing a coconut, cracking it and drinking the water that’s inside. 

When he gets bored, he goes to see what the others are doing. He treads out to the sea where he finds Mark and Donghyuck trying to catch fish for tonight’s dinner. They are the ones that catch their food for them. They are the only experienced fishermen on the boat. 

“Hey guys, anything taking the bait?” he asks the two, who seem quite bored waiting for the fish to come. 

“We’ve caught six so far. Just one more and then we are good. We have to hurry though, we want to get out of here before dark,” Mark replies. 

Jaemin looks over at Donghyuck and can see the worry etched on his face. They were short a fish a couple of days ago, and Mark refused to take any, saying the others should have it. Jaemin knows Mark still feels guilty about getting them stuck on the island, that he is refusing the fish because he thinks he doesn’t deserve it. 

Just as Jaemin is about to respond, Donghyuck catches another fish. He can see the determination on his face, and feels as though Donghyuck was able to catch it from sheer force of will. Donghyuck was worried about Mark, and the two always look out for each other. 

He quickly leaves after that, the two getting lost in a conversation as they so often do, causing Jaemin to seek entertainment elsewhere. He finds it in the shape of Jisung and Chenle taking the laundry they did and hanging it up on a makeshift clothesline. 

“Hyung,” Jisung exclaims, looking at Jaemin excitedly. “Look! We are doing laundry. Actually doing it. We’ve never experienced something like this, isn’t it cool?” 

Jaemin really doesn’t feel the hype regarding doing laundry, in fact, he himself finds the job quite tedious. But Jisung is so cute that he indulges him, congratulating him on his job well done. 

“We are about to do dishes from lunch next,” Chenle says. “What to join us, hyung?” he asks excitedly. The last thing Jaemin wants to do on his island getaway is wash the dishes, so he quickly makes up an excuse. 

“Actually, I was going to go check in on Jeno and Renjun. The radio is very important, and I need to make sure the stress isn’t getting to them and they can take care of themselves,” he says, before heading towards the boat. 

Jaemin gets back on the boat, and is greeted by Renjun mumbling to himself in Chinese as he reads over the instruction manual for what must be the hundredth time while Jeno turns some screws and fiddles with some wires. 

They look up at him and smile brightly, happy for some company that will allow their minds to take a little break. Jaemin really doesn’t do any work on the island, but the others don’t mind. His job is to be there for them, to distract them from the reality of their situation. That’s what he plans to do for Renjun and Jeno in this moment. 

“Let’s play a little game shall we?” Jaemin says, smile on his face as he plops down next to Renjun. The other two look at him curiously, before he raises his hand indicating the game they are playing. 

“Put a finger down if you are Chinese,” he begins, and Renjun huffs before raising his hand and putting a finger down. 

Renjun goes next, declaring that you must put a finger down if you are taller than him, so both Jeno and Jaemin lower their fingers. 

“Put a finger down if you are a movie star,” Jeno says, forcing Jaemin to put a finger down. The game progresses until Renjun is left with one finger, and the other two have two apiece.

This is the moment Jaemin decides to make the game interesting, he has always been an instigator afterall. 

“Put a finger down if you would kiss someone on the island,” he says, smirk on his face. He lowers his own finger, and watches as Jeno and Renjun do the same, shocked looks on their faces. 

“Well,” Renjun begins, voice weak, “I guess I lost.”

Jeno nods, clearly embarrassed by the turn of events and turns back towards the radio. Renjun too, decides to get back to work, signaling the end of their break. 

Jaemin smiles to himself, and moves towards the bed, deciding to take a quick break. He can’t help but feel satisfied at the information he learned. Because if both of them would kiss someone, that means it is twice as likely that that someone is him.

-

Renjun is the glue that keeps them together. They’ve been on the island for a couple of weeks now, and he organizes things, makes sure everyone has food, he mitigates fights (especially between Mark and Donghyuck), and overall remains the most rational person on the island. 

Mark is definitely the leader of their little crew, but Renjun’s role is essential as well. Everyone else grew up in the city, whereas Renjun is from a small town in China. He isn’t extremely wealthy like the others, so this simple living is not that big of a deal to him. 

Jeno and Jaemin are his closest friends on the island. Whenever Renjun feels the worry start to consume him, he goes to them and the pain becomes bearable. 

Jisung and Chenle come to him for everything. He teaches them everything he knows, from laundry to dishes to starting fires. The two love the idea of finally learning how to do things for themselves. Renjun hopes they can take these skills and apply them at home once they get off the island. _If they get off the island._

He knows this is something they all struggle with. The frightening possibility of what-if. They all have lives outside of the island, friends and family they would like to see again. The idea of none of them going back haunts them, even if they’ve become a little family amongst themselves. It hits Mark the hardest. 

Mark still feels guilty about the wreck. He is very worried that he ruined everyone’s lives, that he took a chance of normalcy away from them. This guilt manifests itself in several ways. Sometimes it helps become a better leader, doing things to keep their little civilization afloat. Sometimes he gets so sad he can’t do anything but find a tree stump in the woods to cry on. 

But sometimes, the ugliest part of the guilt gets to Mark and he feels nothing but anger. And since he has known Donghyuck the longest, it is so easy to take that anger out on him. They’ve been on the island two weeks, and they’ve had 3 big fights so far. Mark is ashamed, but he can’t help it. He says things he doesn’t mean, and it only provokes Donghyuck, causing a full-blown screaming match to occur. 

This is the situation that Renjun catches the two in. 

“I’m sorry for being upset Donghyuck, but it’s a shitty situation. I don’t want to be here. I want to have a life, a real life. I want all of us to have a life again,” Mark yells, nostrils fuming and chest heaving. 

Donghyuck spars back, equally upset. “None of us want to be here. But being miserable all the time isn’t helping anyone! It’s just causing more stress for all of us. All I am saying is that you should try to enjoy the little things in life while on the island!”

Mark scoffs at that, “What do you want from me, Hyuck? Do you expect me to play house with you on the island? I want a real life. Nothing on this island is important. Nothing here is real,” he screams. 

Renjun looks to Donghyuck, clearly expecting him to yell back, but all he sees is hurt etched across his face. He lets the venom in Mark’s words sink in a bit, and he immediately notices the cruelty behind them. Anyone can see how much Donghyuck likes Mark, and Mark just shot him down in the harshest way possible. 

“You know what? You don’t have to play _anything_ with me. I’m leaving. I’m going to the other side of the island. You can tell the rescue crew I’m there once you get ahold of them,” Donghyuck yells, before running off. 

Renjun stands there in shock. There has never been a fight this bad. There has never been a moment where one of them has gone off alone. The thought unsettles Renjun, leaves him feeling uneasy. Mark seems unbothered. 

At least, he is unbothered _at first_. But as time passes on, he grows more and more anxious. Renjun doesn’t blame him. They all become stressed once they hear that Donghyuck ran off. At sunset, Mark stands up suddenly, ready to search for Donghyuck. The rest of them won’t let him. 

“It’s almost dark. It’s going to be so dark that you won’t be able to see him, even if you find him. The last thing we need is two of you missing. Stay here and wait for him to come back. If he doesn’t, we’ll look for him first thing in the morning,” Renjun says, once again proving to be the rational one. 

Mark argues, keeps attempting to leave. Jeno and Jaemin hold him back and force him to think logically. Suddenly, the fight leaves Mark’s body and he collapses into gut-wrenching sobs. Much more painful than anything they have ever heard from him. 

“If something happens to him, I will never forgive myself. I didn't mean it. I didn’t mean any of it. I was just so angry, so mad at myself and I took it out on him. I took it out on him and pushed him away and now he is out there all by himself,” Mark sobs. Jaemin pats his back, trying to offer him some comfort, but the crying continues. 

“I love him. I love him so much and I made him think I didn’t care at all. I didn’t even chase him. Oh god, if he is hurt-” he trails off. Mark cries for another hour or so, well past when it is dark. It’s pitch black outside, and Renjun doubts Donghyuck will be able to find his way back tonight. 

But if there is one thing Renjun has learned while being stuck on this island, it is to never doubt Lee Donghyuck. Because later that night, maybe around 1:00 am, Donghyuck comes back. 

Chenle and Jisung had managed to fall asleep, squished together on the top bunk, but everyone else is still awake. Renjun finds it hard to sleep knowing that Mark is sitting there crying. Knowing that as soon they all fall asleep Mark would leave, run to find Donghyuck as soon as possible. 

When the door to the boat interior opens, Mark immediately stands up, running to Donghyuck when he appears in front of them and throws his arms around him. He is muttering apologies as he grips on to the other boy, Donghyuck gripping him back just as tight. 

“I didn’t mean it,” Mark sobs into Donghyuck’s chest. “I didn’t mean any of it. The pressure of the island was getting to me and I took it out on you because I knew you, and knew I could. I’m so sorry, Hyuckie. I’m so fucking sorry,” he wails. 

Donghyuck shushes him, patting his back as they stand there. Jaemin, Renjun, and Jeno all move towards their bed, wishing to give the two boys some privacy in their cramped little space. 

“I was so scared when you didn’t come back. I don’t know what I would’ve done if something had happened to you. I would never be able to live with myself,” Mark says. 

Donghyuck pulls back, looking Mark in the eye. “I’m sorry too. I didn’t realize my feelings for you were so obvious and that they were making you uncomfortable. I’ll work on that, and pull back so it doesn’t have to be awkward,” he offers. 

Mark looks stunned at that, and immediately begins shaking his head. “No. That’s not it at all. Please don’t pull back. I didn’t mean what I said at all, I was just being stupid. I really like you, Donghyuck. The reason I push you away is because I’m scared of how much I want to pull you closer,” Mark admits firmly, with strength behind his words. 

Donghyuck looks stunned, clearly not expecting this sort of response from Mark. “Mark, I-I don’t understand. What do you mean?” he asks hesitantly, like he isn’t quite ready to believe what he is hearing. 

Mark, having finally gained his confidence after years of knowing and quietly loving Donghyuck, doesn’t back down. “I love you. I am an idiot and you deserve someone who can handle their stress better. But I want to be yours. If you’ll have me,” he finishes. 

Donghyuck doesn’t answer at first, just pulls Mark in for a long, slow kiss. Despite the kiss saying everything Donghyuck wanted to say, he still verbalizes his answer. “Mark, I’ve always been yours,” he whispers, voice soft and full of love. 

The two migrate towards their bed, emotionally exhausted after their long, taxing day. They fall asleep with their arms wrapped tightly around each other, neither ready to let go after too long apart.

-

The next few days pass by uneventfully, life continuing on the island as normal. However, two and a half weeks after landing on the island, something wonderful happens. 

Jeno and Renjun are in the cabin of the boat, Renjun doodling on a sketchpad while Jeno fiddles with the radio. Jeno fiddles with a wire, and suddenly static comes in. Renjun looks up abruptly, curious at what is happening. 

Jeno stops, thinks for a second, and suddenly he figures it out. He tweaks a couple of wires, turns a couple of knobs and suddenly, a news report is being broadcasted. They listen intently to what is being said, desperate to catch any news of what has happened in the two and a half weeks that they’ve been missing. 

_Search efforts for the SS Dream have come up short once again. The boat, which had billionaire Zhong Chenle and movie star Na Jaemin amongst the passengers, went missing a couple of weeks ago after a storm. We will continue to provide updates as they come in._

After that music starts playing, and Jeno and Renjun stare at each other, before breaking off into excited screams. The noise alerts the others, and they all come rushing to see what is happening. 

All five of the other members enter the cabin, and immediately start cheering as they hear the music playing, an impromptu dance party starting. They dance and celebrate until the next commercial break before Jeno explains what happened. 

“I figured out how to get it working, now I just need to figure out how to send a signal out. I’ll try my best to work on that and figure it out,” Jeno clarifies. Everyone rushes to congratulate him, telling him what a great job he’s done, when he interrupts them. 

“I couldn’t have done anything if it weren’t for Injunnie here. Thank you for being my partner throughout all this,” he says softly, prompting everyone to cheer for Renjun as well. 

Soon after, the rest of the castaways turn to leave, ready to go back to their island chores. As they leave a slow song starts to play, and Jeno offers Renjun his palm. “May I have this dance?” he asks. 

Renjun accepts immediately and they spend the next several minutes swaying in each other’s arms, proud of the accomplishments they’ve made together. The song stops but they remain in each other’s arms, until they are interrupted by someone entering the boat again. 

“Oh, sorry,” the voice says apologetically. “I see you guys are busy,” he says, before turning to leave. 

“No it’s okay, Jaemin,” Renjun replies. “We were just getting back to work anyways.” Jaemin nods but turns to leave anyway. The two look at each other slightly concerned, but choose not to address it. They have work to do anyways. 

-

After the radio got fixed, Renjun noticed that Jaemin was acting especially closed off from everyone. He spent all day sunbathing alone, and only came into the boat to sleep, leaving no room for him to talk to the castaways. 

They get more worried as time passes without any word from Jaemin. Renjun, being the most pragmatic of the group, decides to confront him right away, before things get worse. There are only seven of them on the island, and Renjun doesn’t want any of them to be on bad terms. 

He waits until after lunch, once everyone has eaten and gone back to their chores. This way Renjun can find out what is bothering Jaemin without the others interrupting them. The last thing he wants is Jaemin to feel overwhelmed by the situation. 

Renjun finds Jaemin at his usual spot on the beach, beneath a tree for some shade, yet close enough to the beach if he wants to feel the sun against his skin. Jaemin is laying down, one arm over his eyes, humming a vaguely familiar tune. 

Renjun approaches Jaemin, and lays down next to him. Jaemin hums, acknowledging his presence, but he doesn’t move to make conversation. 

“This is a nice spot you’ve got here. Maybe I’ll ditch Jeno and just spend my days here with you,” Renjun jokes. Jaemin pulls his arm away from his face and turns to look at Renjun, staring at him inquisitively. 

“What’s bothering you, bub?” Renjun asks softly. “You’ve barely spoken to anyone these past few days. If something is bothering you, you know you can talk to me about it, right? I’ll always be here to listen to,” he says. 

Jaemin sighs deeply, refusing to meet Renjun’s eyes. “I don’t want to bother you with my dumb problems. I’m sure you’d rather be with Jeno right now anyway. I’m sorry for pulling you away,” he says sadly. 

Renjun feels his heart ache at Jaemin’s words. The younger boy sounds so sad, Renjun wants to pull him into a big hug. “That’s not true at all, Jaemin. Come on, tell me what’s wrong, sweetie,” he says gently. 

At that, Jaemin bursts into tears. Renjun looks at him alarmed, before pulling him into a hug and letting him cry it out. Jaemin’s sobs wreck through his body, unable to stop crying once he has started. Renjun holds him, lets him get it all out, rubbing his back softly and whispering sweet encouragements in the meantime. 

“I-it’s just, i-it’s just, I am all alone here. Chenle and Jisung are practically married, and Mark and Donghyuck are so in love. And you and Jeno have each other too. And I’m all alone. What if we are stuck here forever, and I’m alone forever,” he says, breaking off into a sob. 

Renjun is shocked at that statement, mostly because he has never viewed it that way at all. He rushes to reassure Jaemin, heart breaking that _this_ is what has been upsetting him. 

“Jaemin, it’s not like that at all. First of all, we are getting off of this island. I promise you that. Second of all, you are not alone here. Mark and Donghyuck, and Chenle and Jisung may be paired off, but you’ve got it wrong about us. You are a part of ⅓. You, me, and Jeno are a package deal. All three of us. We won’t leave you behind. Not now, and now ever,” Renjun confesses. 

Jaemin looks at him for a moment taking Renjun in. When he sees nothing but raw honesty on his face, he nods. Jaemin believes Renjun in this moment. He wants to believe that his worst fears aren’t coming true. 

Renjun stands up, holding a hand out for Jaemin. “C’mon. Let’s go see Jeno. He misses you, I can tell. We all missed you,” he says, small smile gracing his face. 

Jaemin accepts his hand readily, and they go off, ready to meet their other ⅓.

-

For the first time since they’ve been stuck on the island, Mark finally allows Jisung and Chenle to do the daily fishing on their own. The two of them stand out in the water, waiting for something to catch the bait. 

“We’ve already caught almost everything we need for dinner tonight. I don’t know why Mark didn’t trust us. We are totally competent,” Chenle says to Jisung, interrupting the serene silence surrounding them. 

Jisung nods along, agreeing immediately. “Just because we burned dinner last week, almost set the ship on fire, and accidentally hit Renjun in the head with a coconut doesn’t mean we are dumb. We are learning to live by ourselves for the first time. Like babies,” he responds. 

They go back to silence for a couple of minutes before Jisung starts talking again. 

“You know,” he starts, hesitating slightly. “Being stuck on the island, it almost feels like a bit of blessing. I don’t think we’ve really… spent time with each other in awhile. I really missed being with you all the time,” he admits shyly, turning away from Chenle to gaze at the water. 

Chenle takes a step towards him, reaching out and grabbing his hand. “I’ve been working hard. Doing a lot because I wanted to be able to give you the best possible life. But being on the island has shown me that none of that really matters. The only thing that matters is you being by my side Sungie,” Chenle responds. 

Jisung looks at Chenle, staring into his eyes for a moment before pulling him into a long hug. “I promise I will start working less. When we get off this island, you’ll remain my number one priority,” Chenle promises. 

Jisung nods quickly, and the two remain locked in their embrace until it gets dark. They get so lost in their moment that they forget to keep fishing. They show up to the campsite one fish short, and Mark can’t even be angry when he sees how tightly Jisung and Chenle are grasping each other’s hands; how in love they are in this moment. 

-

Four days before they hit the one month mark, Jeno figures out how to send a distress signal. It takes him three tries, but he finally gets a response. The people on the other end of the radio are shocked to hear from him but promise a rescue team will be there the next day. 

The castaways all celebrate, crying and hugging and laughing. Because _finally_ , after a month of being stranded they get to leave the island. They can finally go back to their lives. 

They spend their final night on the island around the campfire singing songs and feasting on the rest of their food. Once it gets dark, the moods shifts and everyone starts feeling sentimental. 

“I just want to say thank you again to Jeno and Renjun for working on the radio and getting us out of here,” Chenle begins, shifting the conversation to something a little more mushy. 

Everyone affirms their thanks, before Renjun starts talking. “I want to thank Mark. He really stepped up as the leader on this island, and took care of all of us. You held us all together, Mark. Without you, I don’t know how we would have survived.”

Mark looks sheepish, while Donghyuck smiles softly at him, rubbing his back gently. Mark looks at Donghyuck lovingly before saying, “I don’t think I could ever hate this island. Because it gave me you.” The two meet for a kiss, before having to break away because their smiles are too big. 

“Let’s promise that we keep in touch after this. I don’t want to lose you guys now that we are leaving the island. I feel like we’ve become a family, and I really want to keep you guys in my life forever,” Jaemin admits. 

They all nod. “You’ve all changed my life so much. This experience was awful, but the fact that it brought me all of you, makes me feel so grateful,” Renjun responds. 

They share their tender feelings before it gets too late, the two couples getting up and going to bed. Renjun, Jeno and Jaemin sit around the fire, staring at the sparks that come from the flames in front of them. 

Surprisingly, it is Jeno who speaks up first. “I couldn’t have done this without the two of you, you know. I love everyone here, but you guys- well, you guys are special,” he confesses. 

Jaemin reaches out and grabs his hand, before reaching to his other side to grab Renjun’s hand as well. “I went on this gay boat tour wishing that hopefully I would potentially meet this amazing guy that I would fall for. That didn’t happen. Instead, I was given two guys. Two guys who are everything I didn’t know I needed. I hope I’m not making a fool out of myself right now, but I really like you guys,” he says, proving once again that he is a hopeless romantic. 

Renjun squeezes his hand, before standing up and plopping right on Jaemin’s lap. “Jaemin I told you that you were ⅓ of us. You’ll always have a part of me,” he confesses. 

Jeno nods too, responding “Me too. Both of you have a part of my heart. When we get off this island, I’m going to take you guys on a date. No more fish. No more coconut. Whatever you want, I’ll give it to you,” he promises. 

They spend the rest of the night sharing soft kisses under the moonlight, unable to sleep due to the excitement radiating their bones. 

-

The rescue boat comes the next day, just as was promised. When they reach the dock, each castaway is greeted by friends and family, shocked to see their loved one after they’d all but given up hope. 

They all get emotional when it’s time to separate, but they all know it isn’t forever. From now on, they will always be in each other’s lives.

**Author's Note:**

> if you were expecting a literary masterpiece, i am sorry. this is probably the worst fic i have written yet but i don't even care. this is just a fun, short little fic so there may not be amazing character development or anything but i hope you still enjoyed it. 
> 
> please leave any thoughts/opinions/critiques
> 
> i had a lot of fun writing my 1984 au, so i am currently working on another story inspired by a piece of classic literature that i will be posting soon, so keep your eyes peeled for that. 
> 
> [my twitter](https://twitter.com/lefargenjeno)
> 
> [my cc](https://curiouscat.me/lefargen)


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